Woman ordered to stand trial for fraud, posing as attorney

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Woman ordered to stand trial for fraud, posing as attorney

SAN DIEGO — A woman accused of posing as a lawyer and defrauding people out of tens of thousands of dollars was ordered Monday to stand trial on 18 counts of grand theft and identity theft.

Giuliana Bosco Huerta, 38, was described by prosecutor Hector Jimenez during her preliminary hearing as someone “very talented at duping people.”

Among other things, she’s accused of stealing more than $40,000 from a man after telling him she would set up a trust for his child and a license for his bakery business.

According to Jimenez, she built “an aura of credibility” by using made- up bar association member numbers and impersonating other people when sending emails to her alleged victims.

Some of the emails were sent while she was out on bail following her arrest in June, he alleged.

“The defendant has everybody, including her own wife, believing she’s a lawyer,” Jimenez said.

At a prior hearing, Jimenez alleged the defendant in 2005 scammed people out of $50,000 in a medical diet scheme. In 2010, Bosco Huerta pleaded guilty to burglary in another scam and in 2011, she was convicted of stealing from a law firm where she worked, the prosecutor said.

He said the defendant was known to use the attorney name Julie Saska Feinberg.

Judge Joan Weber dismissed a misdemeanor count of practicing as an attorney without a license because documents with the fake bar association identification numbers were never filed and the defendant never appeared in a courtroom.

She also agreed with defense lawyer Vickie Fernandes that bail of $750,000 was excessive, and lowered it to $500,000.

The judge, however, imposed a requirement that the defendant demonstrate that money she applies toward her bail wasn’t acquired through the alleged fraud, and scheduled trial for Feb. 2.